Analysis of the US Market from Various Perspectives - Essay Example

Analysis of the US Market from Various PerspectivesThe US market is a matured yet fluid market and is influenced by a large number of factors. However, there are six major trends that will constitute the major force that will determine the economic landscape of the US economy. These 6 trends may be broadly categorized under three major perspectives- i) the Economic; ii) the Political and iii) the Cultural perspectives. Economic Perspective:The two major trends of the U.S. market from the economic perspective are:1.

Insurance companies are available at attractive valuations: Currently the U.S. market is in turmoil and due to the depressed business environment, lot of companies are highly undervalued in the stock exchanges. So, this may be considered a good time to enter the US market by acquiring well managed and under-valued insurance companies. However, the investment decision should be backed up by through due diligence. Also, the investment should be done with a long term perspective. 2. The government is amenable to foreign investment: The present economic recession has forced U.S. banks to tighten their credit standards and the issuances are getting more expensive.

With the weakening dollar and depressed domestic and the foreign demands, U.S. businesses are currently facing hard times. In times like these the administration will welcome any kind of foreign investment, including in the form of an acquisitions. (RBC, 2008)Political Perspective:The current major trends in the U.S. from a Political standpoint are:1. Democrat candidate Barrack Obama as the new President of U.S.2. People are politically more confident and optimistic with the new democratic government in place.

(McLaughlin C., 2006)New President means changes and changes come from new policies. So the policies formulated by the new President will definitely affect business operations of the firm to an extent. Additionally, the new President has an substantially high acceptance among the US population and it is expected that entering the office will help boost the sagging morale of the US economy. All these factors may result in an earlier than expected recovery of the US economy. Cultural Perspective:For most of the aspects of management and business operations, having a better understanding of a country’s culture is very important, both for a single country and international settings.

Cultural backgrounds influences people’s conjectures about the organization and hence have a profound impact on the management and business operations. (IMD, n.d)The major cultural trends of the U.S. are:1. Outsourcing: US citizens are increasingly adopting the idea of medical tourism. This trend has enormous repercussions on the US Insurance industry. (Health Economics, 2008)2. Decline of the “family”: Family as a social unit has been increasingly losing its importance in US, and the percentage of family households out of total households have dipped to 69% from 89%.

This trend is critically linked to Insurance Industry as there are more units of society that will look for individual insurance. (Michael T. R.,2003) These are the 6 major trends of the U.S. from three- Economic, Political and Cultural perspectives. The acquisition is sure not to ensure good dividends for the first year or so, however, on the long term basis the firm stands a good chance of expansion. It’s just a matter of standing firm against the current recession and competing for the future. (Hamel G. and Prahalad K.C., 2000) List of References:1. Hamel G. and Prahalad K.C., 2000, Competing for the Future, Harvard Business Review, retrieved on 6th March, 2009, from: http://www.hbasp.harvard.edu2. Health Economics, 2008, Exploring the Growing Appeal of Medical Tourism, Goizeuta Business School, retrieved on 6th March, 2009, from: http://knowledge.emory.edu/3. IMD, n.d.

, Cultural Perspective Questionnaire, CPQ Project, retrieved on 6th March, 2009, from: http://www.imd.ch/research/projects/CPQ.cfm4. McLaughlin C., 2006, New Political Trends, the Center for Visionary Leadership, retrieved on 6th March, 2009, from: http://www.visionarylead.org/articles/new_pol_trends.htm5. Michael T. R., July, 2003, An Economic Perspective on Sex, Marriage and the Family in Contemporary United States, Harris School, University of Chicago, retrieved on 6th March, 2009, from: http://www.spc.uchicago.

edu/prc/pdfs/michae03.pdf6. RBC, December, 2008, Economic and Financial Outlook, Economic Research, retrieved on 6th March, 2009, from: http://www.rbc.com/economics/market/pdf/fcst.pdf